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'Has she come to sit upon Quilp's knee,' said the dwarf, in what he
meant to be a soothing tone, 'or is she going to bed in her own little
room inside here? Which is poor Nelly going to do?'
'
What a remarkable pleasant way he has with children!' muttered
Brass, as if in confidence between himself and the ceiling; 'upon my
word it's quite a treat to hear him.'
'I'm not going to stay at all,' faltered Nell. 'I want a few things out of
that room, and then I - I - won't come down here any more.'
'
And a very nice little room it is!' said the dwarf looking into it as the
child entered. 'Quite a bower! You're sure you're not going to use it;
you're sure you're not coming back, Nelly?'
'No,' replied the child, hurrying away, with the few articles of dress
she had come to remove; 'never again! Never again.'
'
She's very sensitive,' said Quilp, looking after her. 'Very sensitive;
that's a pity. The bedstead is much about my size. I think I shall make
it MY little room.'
Mr Brass encouraging this idea, as he would have encouraged any
other emanating from the same source, the dwarf walked in to try the
effect. This he did, by throwing himself on his back upon the bed with
his pipe in his mouth, and then kicking up his legs and smoking
violently. Mr Brass applauding this picture very much, and the bed
being soft and comfortable, Mr Quilp determined to use it, both as a
sleeping place by night and as a kind of Divan by day; and in order
that it might be converted to the latter purpose at once, remained
where he was, and smoked his pipe out. The legal gentleman being by
this time rather giddy and perplexed in his ideas (for this was one of
the operations of the tobacco on his nervous system), took the
opportunity of slinking away into the open air, where, in course of
time, he recovered sufficiently to return with a countenance of
tolerable composure. He was soon led on by the malicious dwarf to
smoke himself into a relapse, and in that state stumbled upon a settee
where he slept till morning.
Such were Mr Quilp's first proceedings on entering upon his new
property. He was, for some days, restrained by business from
performing any particular pranks, as his time was pretty well
occupied between taking, with the assistance of Mr Brass, a minute
inventory of all the goods in the place, and going abroad upon his
other concerns which happily engaged him for several hours at a time.
His avarice and caution being, now, thoroughly awakened, however,
he was never absent from the house one night; and his eagerness for
some termination, good or bad, to the old man's disorder, increasing
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